AHL'ers making an impact in DC

I am prone to spending my work breaks perusing hockey blogs that talk primarily about the Capitals and the Bears, and have seen a lot of criticism about Bruce Boudreau recently. To many bloggers, there seems to be some level of disgust concerning how a coach with a largely minor league background tends to be favorable towards his minor league prospects from Hershey. I have seen several comments about how DC only needs 'The Young Guns' (Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green) to be successfull, and that call ups from Hershey are a sideshow. Just last season, in the stands at the Verizon Center, I would often hear bitter resentment from fans if such a call-up fanned on a shot, missed a pass, or was out of position. Only once did I think such criticism was justified. It was hard to forgive Sami Lepisto and his 'broken skate' episode that cost the team a victory, and a subsequent lack of confidence in his ability from coach Boudreau. But cries of 'send 'em back to Hershey' and several others not fit to print left me with a feeling that the talent provided by the farm system was completely under-appreciated.

This brings me to my reasoning for this entry. Over the last three games played by the Capitals, the Young Guns have not been a factor. With Ovechkin out due to injury, Semin investing in penalty box real estate, and Green ailing once again, only Backstrom is left to carry the load, and he too has been quiet lately. In the absence of the Great 8, the Capitals have still posted a 2-1 record, and underlying the success in these games have been, yes, you named it, the AHL contingent. Take a look at the stats, for they do not lie. Hershey call-up Mathieu Perreault has points in all three games since wearing a Caps jersey, including a nifty goal against the Florida Panthers in his Verizon Center debut. Tyler Sloan has successfully switched between playing forward and defense as dictated by Boudreau, and has two goals in those last three games now posted on his resume. Another one of Gabby's boys, Quintin Laing, has demonstrated an uncanny knack for killing penalties, and has developed great chemistry with his linemates David Steckel and Matt Bradley. Laing has also found the net recently too, beating Columbus netminder Steve Mason and then tallying last night in the 7-4 victory over Florida. And then what about that other 'Hershey' guy? Oh yes, Semyon Varlamov, the Hershey call-up that helped keep the playoffs alive in back to back series last season, and who maintains a pretty impressive win/loss percentage since playing for the Caps. Yes, clearly there is absolutely no need to have these mediocre AHL'ers taking up roster space :')

So has Gabby shown favoritism towards his minor league boys? Not at all! In my opinion, the coach has simply made the right decisions for the best interests of the team. Few could argue that in the absence of the superstars, the call-ups have not been a contributing factor to the Capitals continued success. And for those that remain unconvinced...well, sorry to rain on your parade, but both Hershey and the South Carolina Stingrays are developing the next generation of this team, and given their track record recently (Calder Cup and Kelly Cup), have certainly done a pretty outstanding job to date.

Halloween came early at the Verizon Center

October 31st may be a few days away, but the contest between the Capitals and the Predators certainly scared me at times, and left me with a few tricks and treats to post about here today - more on that in a moment.


I stopped by at the Kettler complex for the morning skate, and was surprised to see Eric Fehr being singled out and put through his paces. Fehr has not seen much ice time this season, and I'm curious to know what the underlying issues are here. Obviously he cannot be sent down to the AHL without clearing waivers, and the Caps would certainly not want to lose him for nothing in return. Fehr took a beating yesterday morning, and although he participated in pre-game warm-ups, he was scratched from the line-up against the Predators.


I would like to say thank you to Tyler Sloan for sharing a little of his time with me yesterday. As a Hershey Bears fan, I am always happy to see one of the boys get his opportunity with the Caps, and I'm sure that Tyler is happy to blend in easily with the crowd.


But what about those tricks and treats from last nights game? Here are some observations made from the stands:


Tricks:

A 2 point night, but a game that should have been won in regulation. The first Predators goal was soft, and Theodore should have made the save. Many commentators state that Theodore will calm down and improve as the game goes on, but those early goals against are killing us.


I am not entirely sold on the ability of Jeff Schultz. His playmaking in the defensive zone is often hit and miss, with some soft puck clearances that never leave the zone, and some questionable positioning at times. With his huge frame, and increased muscular bulk, he has the tools to be an effective hard-hitting defender; yet fails to capitalize on that opportunity. Play harder Jeff - please!!!!! Prove my observations wrong, I beg you!!!


I won't visit the school of bad officiating today, as the crowd at the Verizon Center pretty much voiced my concerns last night. Ref, indeed you sucked with some of those plays that deserved a whistle and a two minute minor.



Treats:

The most notable treat was that Ovechkin's absence did not affect the outcome. I would imagine that the late Nashville goal to tie the game in the third period led to several journalists already preparing their "Cannot win without the Great 8" headlines. It was good to see others take the lead.


David Steckel played a stellar game last night. The obvious highlight was his short-handed goal, but every minute of his ice time was productive and well played. While the 3 stars are often awarded on a points and goal-count basis, Steckel deserved to be the number one star last night in my opinion.


We have great talent in the shoot-out pool - especially as the likes of Federov, Gordon and Steckel did not have to come out and take a shot at Ellis. While Theodore was a little shaky in regulation, he got the job done in the shoot-out, and I thank him for that. Let's just hope that he can provide some consistency and not have the crowds at the Verizon Center trembling in fear when the puck is bouncing around the net.




Overall, a win is a win, and I'll take it - but the Caps have a lot of work to do. Chemistry, timing, and improvements to the PP need lots of work at times. Fortunately, some of the breaks went our way, and we came out victorious. But I'll be happier still when this team can find that rhythm and truly unleash the fury.

Pretty in pink....

Hockey fights Cancer as the Bears fought the Rochester Americans at the Giant Center last night. Looking impressive in pink was Chris Bourque, who looked better still when he flipped a penalty shot past Tyler Plante within the first two minutes of the contest to take a 1-0 lead. Rochester kept things close in the first period, and went into the first intermission tied at 1 goal a piece. And that was a close as they came to keeping pace with Hershey. The remaining periods were pure Bears hockey, with Bourque adding 3 assists to take 4 points and be awarded the first star for his stellar performance. Goals came thick and fast in this 8-3 victory, with Quintin Laing and Oskar Osala both finding the back of the net twice. Andrew Gordon, Karl Alzner and Alex Giroux rounded out the scoring in front of a lively 10000+ crowd.

Greg Amadio and Michael Duco entertained the crowd in the first period with an all-out brawl, but the biggest surprise of the evening had to be witnessing Kyle Wilson drop the gloves and duke it out with Duco in the third. Wilson and fisticuffs are seldom categorized together, so it was nice to see that our talented center can look after himself when pushed into a corner. And talking of courage and grit, kudos to Keith Aucoin for stepping up and taking on Keaton Ellerby. When it comes to watching out for his team-mates, what Aucoin lacks in size, he more than makes up for in heart. Well done Keith - four mintues for roughing are a compliment rather than a penalty for your actions. All in all, a great night of hockey once again from the Giant Center.

On a brief note, congratulations are in order for Tyler Sloan, who made the headlines twice this week in his NHL debut. First, THE hit against the Flames was the biggest crunch of the week. I still cannot fathom why Rene Bourque decided he had to pummel Tyler for a legal hit, but Sloan sure looked competent in his Capitals jersey. And then, on Saturday night against the Stars, Tyler scored his first NHL goal. I wonder which highlight he cherishes more - the big hit in Calgary, or lighting the lamp in Dallas? Good luck Tyler - hopefully Bruce keeps you in DC a little longer while Poti recovers from his injury.

Not quite sure what to think about the contract extension for John Erskine. I am kind of on the fence about this guy, whose performance is often simply mediocre. Why take Erskine over the likes of Shaone Morrisson or Milan Jurcina, who are likely candidates to be salary cap casualties next season? Are the Caps ready to have the likes of Sloan, Lepisto and Alzner playing defence at the phone booth next season? Erskine brings experience, and can play the enforcer role when needed, but I'm not sure the extension was necessary at this moment in time in a league where there is no shortage of good defencemen.

Over in the ECHL, the Reading Royals came up short in back to back games this weekend against Johnstown and Augusta. We shall be in Reading this coming Saturday to see them face off against the Idaho Steelheads. Can't wait to see that.

Bears streak punctured by those pesky baby Pens.

Playing their third consecutive game in as many nights, Hershey fell to Wilkes-Barre last night by a score of 5-4. I find it amazing that several other Bears bloggers are already seeing this one loss as the end of the world - that our goaltending is not good enough, that Bob Woods should be fired, and that we cannot possibly make the playoffs. Why are people quick to assume that one regular season loss means that the end is nigh? If the Bears had played last night sporting an 0-5 record going in, would those fans have even turned up to support their team, or would they have already hung themselves from the bleachers at that point? The point I am making is that one loss does not shift momentum. No team can be expected to have a perfect season. Winning 3 out of every 5 should realistically put you in the playoff picture - so why are the pessimists already fearing the worst? Yes, Hershey played with less intensity last night, but that was acceptable to some extent given the physical demands placed upon them from the previous two outings. The Baby Pens were rested on Saturday, and were seeking a victory after losing to Hershey on their home opening night. The Bears will win more than their fair share of games this season with the talented roster that they possess. The occassional loss here and there is simply par for the course - and the Bears will look to bounce back next week against the Senators.

Congratulations are in order for Tyler Sloan, who was recalled to the Capitals in preparation for their upcoming road trip. I wish Tyler well in his NHL debut - providing he is not scratched from the line-up. Go Bears! Go Caps!